A/N
Hey everyone! So, this is it ... the last chapter of The Mysterious Boy. I'm sad yet happy at the same time. I hope you all enjoy!
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"So, are we really just going to lay here? All day?"
"Did you have other plans?"
"Nothing that doesn't involve you."
Jungkook was cuddling next to Jimin, his head laying on his chest. They had been lying in bed for at least an hour now, neither of them wanting to move from the position they were in. Jungkook had always found comfort in the blonde boy. Jungkook began thinking, the pout on his face concerning Jimin.
"Hey, you okay?" Jimin moved his hands through Jungkook's hair, causing him to sigh in content.
"Yeah, just wish I could bring you out of the game, you know?"
"I'd love to see where you're from, Kookie, but I doubt your world would accept me."
"Why not?"
Jungkook propped himself up on his elbow, facing Jimin as he looked him in the eyes. He couldn't help but get lost in how safe he felt when the other was around. Jimin pressed his finger lightly onto Jungkook's nose, smiling as Jungkook looked at him with wide eyes.
"I don't know. I just don't think I'd fit in. And according to what you've said, I've killed a lot of people in your world."
Jungkook chuckled slightly, moving one of his hands through Jimin's hair before falling back to his side. Jungkook moved closer to Jimin, if that was even possible, not wanting to be anywhere but by his side.
"You have." Jungkook paused. He wrapped his arm around Jimin's chest, looking up at Jimin once more. "But I never asked ..."
"What is it?"
"Why didn't you kill me?"
The silence in the air quickly thickened, Jimin now looking in front of him even though nothing was there. He continued to move his hand through Jungkook's hair, the movements done mindlessly as Jimin's brain began to remember the first time he met Jungkook.
-------------------------- FLASHBACK ------------------------------
Jimin saw the quick flash of light, his signal that the player was now here. However, this was the first time a player had landed in this world. Jimin smiled wickedly, grabbing some of his knives before heading towards where the light came from. He only estimated it to be about a mile away.
Jimin jogged through a small wooded area on a path before reaching a house. The house looked brand new, as if it had just been built there. Jimin just caught the sight of the front door closing, debating if he should approach the player. Before he could think too long, he saw Hoseok strolling along a nearby path. He was approaching the front door with a type of gift basket.
"Of course, Hoseok would bring a welcoming gift basket."
Jimin rolled his eyes, taking out one of his knives to get ready to throw when the player opened the door. Jimin was hiding behind some trees and bushes, gripping the knife tightly and getting ready to throw it.
Hoseok knocked on the door, Jimin able to hear him humming brightly. Jimin rolled his eyes once again before he heard the doorknob turning. Jimin held the knife up by his shoulder, preparing to throw it when the time is right.
"Hello?"
Jimin saw the player answer the door, his wrist ready to throw when he froze. He wasn't paying attention to the conversation, Hoseok smiling as he always was. But when he looked towards the player, his mind went blank. It was as if his intent and need for killing and murder had completely left him. All he could see was chocolate brown doe eyes and a posture that screamed that the boy was shy.
Jimin shook his head, hitting it lightly with his right hand as he tried to refocus himself. He put the knife away into his back pocket and moved out of the bushes. He walked nonchalantly towards the house, his hands in the front pockets of his pants. Hoseok must have heard him coming, the man turning around a waving a hand in his direction.
"Hey! I didn't even see you there. Come say hi to the new resident of this place."
Jimin walked up slowly, trying to make his posture seem as non-threatening as possible. He didn't smile, quickly reaching Hoseok's side as he nodded towards the new boy. Jimin looked in his eyes, getting lost in the boy's innocent gaze for a couple seconds before looking away.
"Can we come in? I'll set this basket on the table, and we can get to know each other."
Jimin could see that Hoseok's smile never faltered, always being a type of sunshine on any day. Jungkook nodded shyly before opening the door, allowing Hoseok to enter. When Jimin didn't enter the house, Jungkook looked up to meet Jimin's eyes. In a matter of seconds, Jungkook looked back at is feet as if he was nervous.
Jimin placed his right hand in his back pocket, feeling for the knife. He gripped the handle slowly, smiling as he was preparing for the kill. Jimin didn't know why, but the thrill of a kill always made him feel some sort of rush that he couldn't get anywhere else. Just as he was about to swing at the boy, he heard his voice.
"Uhhh ... are y-you going t-to come in or ..."
It was as if Jimin's whole world stopped, the boy's voice creeping into his brain and calming him down. It was as if the boy was erasing all of his thoughts about the kill and creating thoughts of being protective instead. All Jimin wanted to do was protect the boy in front of him, being sure that nothing could hurt him.
"H-hello?"
The stutter broke Jimin out of his thoughts, the boy stealing glances at Jimin before looking back at the ground. Jimin's hand released the grip on the knife, putting it back in his front pocket. Jimin slowly moved past the doorway as if he couldn't care less. Before he moved all the way in, he turned back towards the boy in front of him.
"What's your name?"
"J-Jungkook." Jimin began to find the stutter cuter as time passed. Jimin was about to continue moving inside before Jungkook lightly held onto his wrist. "Wh-What about yours?"
Jimin looked at the hand holding his wrist and slowly looked back into Jungkook's eyes. Instead of looking away, Jungkook maintained the eye contact, as if challenging the man in front of him. Jimin was intrigued at this sudden sign of confidence, scoffing before pulling his wrist away slowly. Jungkook's fingers lingered before they lost contact with Jimin completely.
"You don't need to know."
Jimin moved inside to see that Hoseok had already gotten almost everything out of the basket, most of it food or miscellaneous housewarming gifts. Jimin rolled his eyes, never understanding why the man was so happy and sweet all the time. Even so, Jimin had always hoped Hoseok would find someone that treated him just as well as he treated everyone else. He smiled slightly at the thought before turning around towards Jungkook, his smile quickly fading as he tried to hold a cold image.
"Well, I hope I get to learn it in the future."
Jimin would never admit how the boy's smile melted his heart. The rest of the time he was there with Jungkook, his mind had completely forgotten about the knives and the original plan for murder. All he could think about was an excuse to see him again.
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"Jimin? You never answered my question."
Jungkook was poking Jimin's cheeks now, trying to bring the boy back to reality. Jimin's looked towards him, leaning in slightly for an eskimo kiss. Sometimes, Jimin was still dumbfounded at how Jungkook had grown from that shy boy into who he is today.
"I didn't kill you, because I didn't want to. That's it. No complicated story."
Jimin placed one hand on Jungkook's arm and the other carded through his hair once again. Jungkook sighed, moving impossibly closer so that there was no space between them. Jimin smiled as Jungkook's lips had formed a pout.
"Not the answer you wanted to hear?"
"No, the answer is fine. I'm just glad to call you mine." Jungkook looked up to see Jimin's eyes sparkling. "I'm also glad I can spend as much time here as I want now."
After the initial experiment with Sana when Jimin had remembered everything, Jungkook had agreed to come back for a couple more trials. Sana wanted to observe why Jimin's memory had transferred from one version of the game to another, never having heard of this happening with people who had multiple copies of the game.
Jungkook had agreed, willingly allowing the experiments to continue. In the end, Sana was astonished at the connection the two boys had, not wanting to break it up. Sana had gifted Jungkook this copy of the game as well as special privileges. She gave him the ability to play the game as long as he wanted. He no longer had a time limit, so he could spend as much time as he wanted with Jimin.
Jungkook couldn't be more grateful, thanking her a million times for giving him this opportunity. She told him it was the least she could do for allowing her to observe his game play for the past couple weeks. So, here Jungkook was, no longer worrying about when the timer would go off. He no longer had to worry about being cut off, his time with Jimin just as precious as ever. Even so, an alarm went off, causing Jungkook to see what it was.
"Ugh."
"What's wrong, Kookie?"
"I have to go to work." Jungkook pouted, slowly moving out a Jimin's grip. The further away he got, the colder the atmosphere became. "I don't want to leave you."
"I don't want you to leave either, but you should go to work. You don't want your boss to be mad at you, do you?"
"I guess not."
Jungkook continued to pout, moving his legs over the side of the bed as he sighed loudly. Jimin got up as well, his legs over the side of the bed before placing a quick peck on Jungkook's cheek. Jungkook smiled, blush rising to his cheeks as he stood up. Jimin stood up as well, placing both of his hands in Jungkook's.
"Have a good day at work. I'll be here when you get back, but be sure to eat dinner first."
Jungkook chuckled. "Aye aye, captain."
They both laughed as Jungkook placed a peck on Jimin's lips. Just as Jungkook was about to log off, Jimin pulled him closer by the sides of his arms, moving them to Jungkook's waste as he initiated a longer kiss. Jungkook sighed into it, moving his arms to wrap around Jimin's neck. They pulled away slowly, their foreheads touching as they breathed slowly.
"I love you."
"I love you, too. See you later."
Jimin waved as Jungkook signed off, the sight of his living room coming back into view. Jungkook took the headset off, the smile never leaving his lips. He looked at the time to see he still had about an hour to get to work. Seeing how he was only about a ten-minute drive away, he had plenty of time to get ready.
After about twenty minutes, Jungkook was ready for work, grabbing a quick snack when he heard a knock at his door. Jungkook had a puzzled look, placing his snack on the counter as he moved slowly towards the front door. What he saw caught him by surprise.
"Hey."
"What do you want?"
Jungkook didn't mean to come off so cold but seeing Taehyung didn't exactly bring up the best memories as of late. Even so, Jungkook could see how nervous the other was, willing to hear him out. Jungkook had pushed the other away for the past couple weeks, not speaking to him after the incident.
"Can we talk?" Taehyung looked towards his feet before slowly looking up to meet Jungkook's eyes.
"I don't think I have much to say."
"Jungkook ..." Taehyung took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I really am. I just came by to say that I'll leave you alone, even if it's forever. What I did was not just crazy but completely unacceptable. Even after I did it, I couldn't believe. My jealousy took over, and I guess, I just wanted you to love me as much as I loved you. But I shouldn't expect you to love me back. So, I'm sorry. For everything."
Jungkook kept his face straight throughout Taehyung's mini speech, trying to look as neutral as he could. He wanted to stay mad at Taehyung, he really did. He took Jimin away from him. He broke the disc, stealing the universe he had built right from under him. But even so, Jungkook couldn't help but feel sorry for the other. Chasing after someone you love and not having the feelings reciprocated must have hurt a ton.
Jungkook sighed before moving forward slowly, his arms widening at his sides. He pulled Taehyung into a short hug. To say Taehyung was speechless would be an understatement. He wasn't expecting anything to come out of this conversation, especially a caring gesture. Jungkook had every right to hate him. Jungkook pulled away, leaning again the doorway.
"Things may never be what they were, but," Jungkook took a small breath, "maybe we can reach the friend stage again, with time of course."
Taehyung smiled wide, the words giving him hope that he hadn't burned their entire friendship into flames. Taehyung nodded quickly, his fingers playing with his shirt.
"I'd like that." Taehyung held his hand out in front of him. "Thanks."
Jungkook shook his hand, giggling slightly as he did so. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I have to go to work soon."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Umm ... have a good day then."
"Thanks."
Taehyung walked away from the front door slowly as Jungkook closed the door. He leaned against the door, his back against it as he took deep breaths. Seeing Taehyung wasn't exactly at the top of his list, but he was happy. They seemed to be rebuilding their bridge the best they could even though the wounds were still a little fresh.
Jungkook looked at the console in the living room before grabbing his car keys. He thought about Jimin: his smile, his wavy blonde hair, the way he always felt safe and comforted in his arms. He knew his shift would seem long, but all he wanted was to get back home as soon as possible.
He double check that he had everything before leaving out of the front door, getting into his car and driving to work as he was used to. His mind kept wandering to a particular mysterious boy that he had grown to love.
"I'll be home soon, Jimin. Don't miss me too much."
His mind got lost as he parked the car, grabbing his things before he exited.
He'll always be the mysterious boy I first met. But he's mine. Forever mine.
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A/N
So, there it is. The Mysterious Boy finally comes to a close. I want to thank you all for the love you gave this story! This started as a one-shot, but turning it into a short story was so much fun. Thank you all for reading this story and dealing with my sporadic updates. Here are some questions to answer if you'd like:
1) Favorite moment of this story?
2) Favorite pairing/storyline?
3) Favorite character? Why?
Also, I'll be starting on my new story soon! It'll be TXT focused and a type of mystery thriller, so I hope you all stay tuned for that. If you'd like a small summary (with no spoilers of course), feel free to message me and ask about it. I hope to see you all on my new story, but for now, it is a small goodbye. Love you all! =^_^=